Open carry and shooting oneself in the foot

[jsbhike]

Except for the segment of the public that thought they were indifferent, or were on the fence.

Then they (along with some who are anti gun for reasons other than wanting a more easily attacked victim) get to see firearms owners not shooting the place up.

Much like an earlier era who were on the fence, indifferent, or misled got to see a black guy sit down and eat a meal without raping, robbing, and murdering his fellow citizens.

[OH58D]

This is the society we have become, and it's more than just guns. LGBQT or whatever they are, get in your face about Pride, and they have Pride parades to prance around and show off the miracle of being Gay or Trans. They have to get in-your-face about it to guarantee your acceptance. What about Social Media, and SnapChat, Instagram, etc.? Everyone is taking pictures of themselves (selfies) and letting you know their mood at that particular instant in time. It's the LOOK-AT-ME Generation, and it has to be force fed to everyone else.

Then we get to Open Carry. I hear so many people say that unless you exercise a right, you will lose it. At what point does strapping on that iron, prancing around the local Wal-Mart in tactical garb exercise a right, or just makes you a Dick? I see Open Carry in the rural West occasionally, and sometimes often, but it's not all the time. Here it's not a big deal, but your self-centered little life and lifestyle may not be a good fit in other areas and other venues. Just like a 6 foot tall bearded Male Drag Queen in a blue mini-skirt may not be a good fit for serving food at the Chuck E Cheese Pizza joint that caters to little kids, maybe getting in-your-face to others about that big iron strapped on your hip, or the AR over the shoulder at the local grocery store just isn't the right time.

You lose rights or credibility when you try to force feed your lifestyle to others who maybe could care less, or don't want to see it.

I think OC activists are more a problem than people who OC.

It's an even bigger problem when OC activists groups gather at a business without prior arrangement / consent and force the business owner to choose which customers he is going to cater to, and the activists almost always lose.

When idiots started showing up in Starbucks with slung rifles what did they think would happen. Especially if members look sorta sketchy it makes it worse.

When most people see a group of 4 people wearing khakis and shirt and tie or polo with holstered handguns they assume off duty or some other kind of security occupation person. But if one guy has a neck tattoo, the girl has a green mohawk and another person has a nose ring...people assume they are probably going to shoot up a movie theater. It's even worse if they are slinging rifles.

Even actual LEOs aren't gonna sling carbines in a donut shop. And it's a good rule of thumb to follow that example. The exception would be IF it's actually hunting season and it's a diner KNOWN to cater to lunchtime hunters and even then it's usually cased rifles against the wall and even THAT is a bit uncommon these days and mostly a rural thing.

Other than that, discretion usually wins. Nobody needs to know it's an MP5k, I just tell them it's my laptop in that case that looks like a laptop computer case.

[jsbhike]

So where should firearms be allowed considering the opposition to possession for most extends to a person's home? That includes any kind of practical practice or competition going back to the South Western Comb...uh, I mean, Southwest Pistol League.

[26 Inf]

This is the society we have become, and it's more than just guns. LGBQT or whatever they are, get in your face about Pride, and they have Pride parades to prance around and show off the miracle of being Gay or Trans. They have to get in-your-face about it to guarantee your acceptance. What about Social Media, and SnapChat, Instagram, etc.? Everyone is taking pictures of themselves (selfies) and letting you know their mood at that particular instant in time. It's the LOOK-AT-ME Generation, and it has to be force fed to everyone else.

Then we get to Open Carry. I hear so many people say that unless you exercise a right, you will lose it. At what point does strapping on that iron, prancing around the local Wal-Mart in tactical garb exercise a right, or just makes you a Dick? I see Open Carry in the rural West occasionally, and sometimes often, but it's not all the time. Here it's not a big deal, but your self-centered little life and lifestyle may not be a good fit in other areas and other venues. Just like a 6 foot tall bearded Male Drag Queen in a blue mini-skirt may not be a good fit for serving food at the Chuck E Cheese Pizza joint that caters to little kids, maybe getting in-your-face to others about that big iron strapped on your hip, or the AR over the shoulder at the local grocery store just isn't the right time.

You lose rights or credibility when you try to force feed your lifestyle to others who maybe could care less, or don't want to see it.

Wow! Nailed it! Read it again folks!

[SteyrAUG]

And when open carry activists have informed everyone what, when, where, and why it has often been met with LE breaking the law without consequence.

Not really sure trying to be perceived as LE or security is any kind of overall benefit since that would only serve to perpetuate the only ones in the room professional enough to be armed ideology.

It took awhile, but I can't recall anyone flipping their wig when a black man walks in the front door of a restaurant and sits down to eat like everyone else.

I'm just suggesting using that standard vs. a guy in a tactical kilt. Also we are trying to normalize a concept so adopting accepted trends is probably a good starting point.